


The Game Has Changed

by pinkbunny



Category: overwatch
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-07 01:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12223074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkbunny/pseuds/pinkbunny
Summary: Somewhere between the past and current timelines for Overwatch- Hana Song has joined Overwatch and gotten used to most of the members, but there's one person who she's still  in the process of figuring out.





	1. Re-calibration

**Author's Note:**

> This basically takes place somewhere between the original Overwatch pre-crisis timeline and the present day that the game takes place in. This assumes that after Winston sent out the call, everyone sorta re-joins overwatch, and D.Va is brought into the fold for the first time- and it's cybunny slow burn because it's me so of COURSE it is. This fic started as a drabble a while ago and I kept writing and writing so it sort of became... this. Please forgive any typos- this fic hasn't been beta'd at all.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes one of your best friends is a robot and sometimes one of your best friends isn't a robot.

Hana had just always assumed Genji was all metal and wires and technology. It was what made her feel at ease around him, it had been what made her comfortable about spending so much time in his company.

People didn't pick up on Hana's anxieties and insecurities because she didn't let them. A master of the cool and collected facade, she was ever ready with some sassy quip or a remark that was dripping with bravado. She had her part, and she had been playing it long enough to never let the veneer slip. Showing weakness was admitting she was weak, and it made her vulnerable- which she certainly was not.

Genji didn't make her so hyper-aware of herself the same way other people on the team did. She couldn't see his scrutinous gaze (if he even had one). She liked machines and computers and games because they made sense. They were logical. She could learn about them, master them, fix them. Technology was less fickle and less fragile than flesh and blood and bone. It was safe, and she could lose herself in it.

That's how it started, mostly. Hana lost herself in the comfortable silent moments, in being around Genji and sometimes Zenyatta as well. The master and his pupil sitting atop a rocky cliff near the Gibraltar base while Hana perched herself on top of her MEKA, thumbs pressing rapidly over the buttons of her old portable console. 

The silent moments where Genji could spend hours meditating and Hana could spend hours trying to beat her high score, or do some routine maintenance on her MEKA. Genji didn't speak to her as though she were a child. He treated her as an equal.

Finding out Genji was human had been a jarring revelation. It only came up when he had mentioned his brother in casual conversation one day, Hana standing behind her MEKA, elbows deep with sorting out a problem with her boosters.

"W- wait, did you say brother?"

"I did."

She shot a dumbfounded look at the back of Genji's head, he was sitting perched atop her MEKA like she'd done so many times before.

"A brother? How do you have a brother?!"

"The same way as anyone else, I suppose. He has not yet forgiven himself. I worry for him."

"Forgive himself for what?"

"For doing something he felt he must do. For ending the life I had once known."

Hana didn't know what to say and so she didn't say anything. She worked a wrench around the inside of the machine she piloted dutifully and the only sound between them was the gentle tinkling of metal hitting metal. It was surprising that he had a past, but even more now that she realized under that armor was a person. She felt sheepish.

"It's funny but, all this time we spent together I never once thought of your past."

"I have moved on from it," he sounded brighter somehow. "I am whole. I am here."

She grunted an affirmation as she firmly grasped and pulled out a corroded piece of metal. There was a leak in there she was determined to find.

"What were you like as a kid?"

"Frivolous and hedonistic. Brother was often frustrated by my immaturity."

Hana scoffed that the notion that cool, quiet, thoughtful Genji could ever have been any other way than he was right now.

"Do you think we would have been friends?"

Genji laughed and she wondered if it had been a stupid question or an _extremely_ stupid question.

"I think I could have used a friend like you."

For Hana that was a good enough answer. 

* * *

The second time the universe decided to remind her that Genji, even if just in part, was a actual person and or man of some kind was when she went to visit Angela to drop off a box of dasik. The sweets were in a shallow box, all colored either white, pink, or yellow. Hana liked the first two varieties, and got the third because they reminded of her friend's golden hair.

"It's me, and I've got the goods!" Hana called out from the other side of the heavy door, with a hint of D.Va mixed in so the declaration was louder and some how cocky even though she was just standing hip askance by an entry way holding dessert.

D.Va could make even entering a room sound like a sort of challenge.

She'd promised to bring back some traditional Korean sweets when she went back home and well... she'd gone back. And now here she was again, bonafide candy delivery girl.

"Come in," Angela had called out to her after she'd knocked rather loudly. "We're finishing up here."

"Oh I didn't realize you were with a patient," Hana faltered, only just stepping through the door and noticing a man sitting on the examination table. He was what she could only describe as halved, as metal defined a clear cleave in his torso, and the right side of his chest and his right arm all seemed cybernetic while the left side was scared but most certainly flesh. She averted her gaze, a bit embarrassed. 

Was she just imagining things or did this guy sort of smile at her from behind his scars?

"I'm so sorry," She squeaked. "I'll come back later to give you these."

"It is alright, Hana. I told Angela I did not mind."

Though slightly different than it normally would have sounded to her ears, Hana raised a brow. There was no mistaking the warm and even tone of his voice, even if it wasn't currently coming through a metal face plate.

"Genji?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly and pointed at the box in her hands, the cellophane top allowing him to see the contents inside. 

"Oh I see you've brought some dasik back with you."

"She has, but these were a special request. I have every intention of having these during my afternoon tea break... which is rapidly approaching." 

The doctor's fingers plucked the box from Hana's stunned grip and they gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for the thoughtful gift Hana. I'll do my best to save you some. I have a feeling I can expect a visit from you soon."

Angela waved to no one in particular and then slipped out of the room quietly.

The silence was always so comfortable between them but Hana was a bit at a loss. She was trying to reconcile the genderless version of Genji that lived in her brain with the handsome and muscular version sitting in front of her shirtless. Which was dumb because she'd never seen Genji in clothes anyway so did he even own shirts? What was the deal with that?

"I should not have blindsided you like this. I know that my appearance is... jarring."

"Jarring?"

"Yes, I believe perhaps I've upset you. I apologize."

"What? I'm not upset, I'm just surprised." There was a bit of hurt in her voice. He didn't mean it that way, she was certain, but did he think she was shallow?

They locked eyes and Genji seemed to sense that he might have offended her somehow.

"I merely thought these scars and marks..." Genji's flesh hand waved in front of his own face, the raised discolorations marked the surface of his skin but even Hana could recognize that Genji was still handsome. If anything, now it was just more ruggedly so. "Most would see me as disfigured."

"Because you have scars? Genj, we all have those." 

Hana pulled on one of her sleeves, rolling it up almost to her shoulder. Her arms were not quite as heavily scarred as her friend's but the marks were there. Bullet holes and various sharp lines that looked as though they could have been from a blade as easily as they could have been from a bunch of metal.

"It comes with the territory, right?" What did people think happened to her exploding MEKA if she was still standing near it? She wasn't invincible, even if she liked to act like it. It was a godsend her plug suit basically covered her from the neck down.

The glossy image of her in films and ads and magazines? Well those could be easily altered, the evidence of her battles smoothed away with the wave of someone's hand until she looked flawless and perfect.

No one wanted to see the aftermath of what she did.

No one wanted to see Hana as she was, just D.Va as she was meant to be.

It was his turn to avert his gaze, his cheeks growing warmer. Was he blushing at her bare arm? It was just an arm. It wasn't like she lifted up her shirt or anything. How dare he be so adorable.

"I just- how did you being human never really come up before? I thought you were a-"

He cut her off dutifully. "I am." 

"Yeah but you're also-"

"I am that too. I am both." Genji smiled sheepishly then, and Hana felt like she was having a mental version of a windows blue screen of death.

"I assumed you knew. Master and I often discuss these things when we head to the mountain together. He gives me perspective, counsel, and guidance. I thought you had overheard us at least once or twice."

"No, never! I mean... wireless headphones, man. Plus it's not my business. I don't eavesdrop. It's not really a good look. Not really selca material."

"Ah, I see. Perhaps I was also complicit. I never thought to clarify, perhaps I didn't mind your presumption of me. My past is complex but, it was comforting to be around someone who did not know me during that difficult time in my life."

It's then that Hana gets it. Genji is Genji. It doesn't matter which parts are metal and which are sinewy muscle and tissue and skin. Genji is more than what the sum of his parts are. Genji is someone she cares about. 

"Well, you know me now." She gives him a smug little grin. "So things are looking up."

He can't help but laugh as he follows her out of the room. "Yes, they certainly are."


	2. Defragmentation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you go with the flow and sometimes you just go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No betas for this. Let me know if there's any glaring errors.

Hana falls into comfortable routine, just like any other creature of habit. Genji was human. Now he's that and something else. He is something new. To her it just matters that he's her friend. He's a person. He's a stable enough fixture that she lets herself be comforted by his presence. 

In the meantime she just reminds herself that his pastimes include hanging out with an omnic monk and meditation and not indulging often in petty desires- so odds are he sees her as a little sister or something. There's a comfort to that too, that sort of steadfastness. It soothes her and helps her remember to breathe when her heart occasionally stutters in her chest.

Hana's pretty sure that between all the members of the team, they'd just about fill up the Overwatch Jet with all their emotional baggage. It's easier to just pack light.

Normal things manifest themselves in various ways. After months normal becomes morning meditations together and late night video games, subbing soda for green tea where acceptable, and Genji learning which wrench does what and when to place the flat of the large metal handles of these tools into Hana's small hands. 

And sometimes normal is falling asleep in the common room most nights and spending 3 months assuming Lucio was hauling her dead weight back to her room and tossing her in bed.

"What are you talking about?" He blinks at her twice.

"Luce, don't get all coy with me. I'm just trying to thank you from sparing me the embarassment of having someone bear witness to me drooling all over one of the sofa cushions."

"And I appreciate that you recognize that I am in fact an excellent friend, but I think it's misdirected. It's not me. I didn't even know you'd been falling asleep out there again. I thought you quit being so restless?"

"I have but sometimes I just have a lot to think about." She sighed, giving her best friend an incredulous look. "If you're not lying and it isn't you, then who would it even be?"

"Probably your knight in Ninja armor," Lucio states plainly, and kicks the the soccer he's been keeping in the air during the entire conversation a little higher than before. The ball arcs higher and he catches it between his shoulder blades. If it was anyone else but Lucio it would have looked like he was showing off.

"Excuse you?"

"What? Don't get angry." He stands upright and the ball bounces on the floor once before he has a sneaker clad foot underneath it again. "I'm glad he's looking out for you. I can't always be here, I feel better knowing he has your back when I'm back home or on tour."

"Stop being sweet when I'm trying to be annoyed at you."

She had to admit, having him be called her anything was nice, even if Lucio nearly killed her from the shock of uttering it out loud allowing it to float freely into the universe like that.

* * *

But normal is also the not so normal things, like hauling down to the hangar and loading the team into 3 separate planes. She usually gets teamed with a different group but it's probably a matter of changing their approach this time, and trying not to be predictable.

Sometimes normal is being teamed up with the guy you kind of probably like but aren't really admitting to yourself yet. Sometimes it's being in the middle of a shitstorm of enemy fire and making the hard choice.

Normal is being in the middle of a maelstrom and having to fight your way out of it.

Hana can hear Mercy behind her, swearing in a language Hana doesn't understand. Winston is in her peripheral view and he's trying to disarm these blasters but he can't do it fast enough. The rest of the team is strewn about. She can hear Genji's stars whistle through the air, the quiet hiss of his blade. McCree is hollering somewhere behind her, his flashbangs going off quickly, loudly, somewhere over her shoulder.

They need a window of opportunity. They need a distraction.

They need an exit so Soldier 76 can get them into that plane and the hell out of here.

D.Va takes a deep breath and launches the MEKA into the air, using her legs to propel herself out once she has enough height that she can figure it will land just behind the enemy unexpectedly. Her landing is rough, she'd fallen from fairly high, but she's D.Va so she manages to stand, a hip jutting to the side to alleviate the pain shooting up one of her legs. 

The MEKA she'd been piloting is absorbed in a flash of green light and lands a few yards left of where she anticipated it might end up. It wasn't an exact science. She supposes she didn't really factor in all the windspeed from the drones overhead.

The explosion is loud but it has it's intended effect. Many enemy units ran for cover, and the ones that didn't quite make it were picked off in the blast. She's knocked back from the force of the blast of an enemy vehicle and slamming against a brick wall isn't really all it's cracked up to be.

Their commlink is full of static in her ears but she can hear the clipped orders to move out, she can see everyone headed south to the rendezvous point. 

She immediately calls for a new MEKA but swears in Korean when she notices the beacon at her wrist took damage when she was knocked back. The call button is unresponsive and she's clicking around the holoscreen to put in a manual override when she notices the humming sound behind her. It's low, but it's the universal sound of a weapon charging up and she knows she's in a mess before she can see what's behind her.

Drawing her pistol she jumps in the air, lands a backflip with enough distance between her and this drone to have a better chance at fighting it off but her leg is a fucking mess and she can feel a warm trickle of blood running down her calf.

"Are you even trying?" She scoffs, shooting her blaster at the offending robot... thing. It's got a boxy appearance but it's bigger than she expected. Bigger than they looked from the safety of her MEKA.

It fires off a huge round of glowing light, reminding her of one of Symmetras blasts only.... bigger. Lots bigger.

So she does the only thing she can do: run. She ducks just in time and the first shot nearly takes out the entire wall she'd been standing in front of. All she can do is fire at it while rushing backwards in the direction she knows her team had headed in and pray this thing doesn't blow her brains out with that giant cannon. The next 30 seconds feel like an eternity. She can tell she's whittling away at it but it's a slow process. She's doged most hits but have taken a few new ones. The suit only offers her minimal protection, and it tears at a few places because it isn't really meant to protect her, it's meant to get her in and out of the mechanical unit she pilots as quickly as possible. 

She turns sharply and tries to lose the offending droid but at her breakneck speed she miscalculated a jump over some debris and her foot is caught on it, sending her flat on her ass, her head hitting the floor and making her see stars.

The pistol falls from her hands with a clatter and she hurriedly reaches for it, that same charging sound from earlier making her panic. There's really no way she can get clear of it in time. Her vision is blurry and she knows that means her aim is completely shit right now. 

This isn't really the way she had thought she'd go out, a voice inside her thinks. She'd assumed it would be some firey blaze of glory during a solo mission. She never thought she'd die during an Overwatch mission. She never thought she'd let them all down like this.

The glowing light is headed for her and she slides backwards as much as she can, maybe if she gets some distance it'll just knock her out. Maybe Angela will find her...

At just the last moment a figure lands between Hana and the ominous light, moving faster than she can really keep up with at the rate her head is spinning. She hears the sound of steel through air, and the light moves the other direction, away from her and towards the drone.

It seems especially unprepared for this, as it hits it square in the center of it's chest, essentially melting itself away.

She's so relieved she doesn't hear the voice at first. It sounds low and far off. It calls to her a few more times, and she can feel herself weightless, being carried in someone's arms as he dashes forward.

It's weird, how safe she feels. Hana can't remember the last time she felt safe. The sensation is rather nostalgic.

"Hana, are you alright?"

She wants to answer him,but the words won't come. It's Genji, she thinks, and smiles weakly. Her last thought is that Lucio will be insufferably smug, knowing he'd been right all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is half done. Will hopefully post is soon once I get this dialogue just right.


	3. Biometrics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FEELINGS ARE GROSS, THERE ARE NO FEELINGS HERE NOPE.*
> 
>  
> 
> *this statement is probably definitely a lie.

It's dark and it's silent, minus the hum and gentle beeping coming from the various equipment in the room. She blinks a few times as she comes to, studying the ceiling and instantly recognizes it as the medical wing of the Gibraltar base. Things slowly come into focus after a few moments. She's covered in heavy blankets, an IV running into her arm, bandages wrapped tightly around her middle and a warm hand threaded through hers.

Hana sits up slightly, or attempts to. She ends up with most of her weight on one elbow but not having the strength to sit up fully without the room spinning. There's a tuft of dark hair resting against the edge of the bed she's on. It's sticking up in lots of places and all Hana can think of is that Genji's hand is so much warmer and bigger than hers. From her position on the bed she can see he's still armor clad, and if she had to guess it seems like he hasn't had time to change at all. His armor is dirty and weathered a bit, but his faceplate is gone. The side of his face is visible once she tilts her head at an angle. His furrowed brow and his expression reminds her of a fog, or a storm.

He must have fallen asleep.

Allowing herself the small indulgence, Hana slides her fingers through his jet black hair. It's softer than she thought it would be, as spiky as it is. It's thick under her fingers and she would never be so brave if he was actually awake. Small fingers comb through it idly and it's comforting to feel between her fingers, the action itself repetitive and rhythmic that she finds herself at the edge of sleep again, her eyes closing shut briefly.

"I am so sorry, Hana."

His voice is quiet but still startles her, eyes shooting open and hand recoiling from his hair quickly, like it burns to the touch. Genji keeps her other hand in his, firmly but gently. Her face flushes despite her best efforts.

Well duh, he's a damn ninja. She was stupid to think she'd get the jump on him in his sleep, that he wouldn't wake up when she was playing with his hair.

"I was not quick enough," he seems somber and morose and Hana is dumbstruck. Her mind is still catching up to all this new information so she's quiet until she realizes what she means and frowns at the realization.

"It was you that saved my life." She reminds him, "That's more than enough. I'm..."

Touched? Embarrassed? Hopeful? Relieved? So flipping glad to see you?

"...Grateful." She decides on.

He has moved to an upright position and his face has a few creases from where he'd been resting against the blankets. His eyes are intense and dark underneath his wild eyebrows. In the lack of light she can almost see them reflect crimson in the same way a cat's eyes will reflect back at you in the dark. It's subtle and barely noticeable and is gone before she can think much of it besides that it's striking and so very different.

"I should have been there sooner. I knew something was not right when I didn't see another MEKA fall from the sky."

Hana squeezes his hand gingerly. "It's not your fault that I'm reckless."

"You were brave," he corrects her with a voice that's a little firmer than before and it makes her eyebrows raise. "You provided everyone with a route to safety."

"And then I needed to be rescued." She laughs weakly.

There is a silence between them and Hana wonders why he's here with her in the middle of the night. Maybe it's early morning, maybe it isn't. Maybe he's just being kind, but he's still holding her hand. She hopes she knows the answer but is too scared to ask the question. Instead she shrugs a little.

"But I'm glad if I had to be rescued, it was by you. Thank you, Genji. You're a good friend. I'm glad you were there, that I was part of your team."

He sits a little straighter and holds one of her hands with both of his, and Hana blinks down at the image of both of his large hands cradling her smaller one. His cybernetic hand isn't cold like most people might have assumed. It's not as warm as his flesh hand but it's not jarring against her skin. It's smooth while his left hand is rougher, calloused. They are both equally ginger with her fingertips.

"What is it?" She asks. He looks like he's thinking about speaking but isn't sure if he will.

He tilts his face to look at her directly and her face burns from embarrassment. She didn't realize he was sitting so close. The only sounds she notices are faint beeps from the machines attached to her and the deep drawn in breaths Genji takes. He is within arms reach and his gaze is magnetic but visibly torn. From what she knows about him she can guess that he's considering the situation carefully. He is thinking of which words to say.

His hands squeeze hers gently and he lets out a deep breath, one that he'd been holding for a few seconds. It sounds like a sigh.

"You need to get some rest. I'll visit you in the morning."

Hana wants to call him back, ask him to stay with her in this cold room- but she doesn't have any right to call out to Genji's back as he slips out the door.

 

* * *

 

Angela sends Overwatch Agent D.Va back to her private quarters later that morning with Doctor's orders to stay in bed and get some rest. She recieved a clean bill of health but she needed to rest. That was basically her least favorite thing, resting and doing nothing.

Holded up in her room all day, Hana keeps replaying her conversation with Genji in her mind repeatedly. Twisting her sheets between her hands because her portable console is still charging in the cradle and her hands itch to do something.

Angela thought she was so clever, slyly remarking that Genji had been visibly distraught at Hana's condition. Not so subtly letting it slip that while Hana was unconscious he refused to leave her bedside, confirming that hopeful wish Hana had hiding deep within her. It was something she was refusing to let take flight because that would be reading into things.

Most girls would have been giddy to know someone was worried about them, but instead Hana felt guilty for causing Genji any stress or sadness. She had worried him and she felt lousy about it. That's when she decided she'd definitely apologize, and she wasn't going to wait either! She was going right this moment, doctor's orders be damned.

Pressing her hand against the console at the side of the door, the metal doors slid open with a hiss and she nearly ran square into Genji's chest- who to his credit, seemed similarly caught off guard. Hana wobbled a bit but he reached out to steady her by grabbing one of her arms, maintaining a respectable distance between them.

"Genji! I was just about to-" She steadied herself, standing up straight and blinking at him in a daze. To his credit, Genji's hands were off of her at lightening speed.

"I was just going to look for you. What are you doing here?"

Genji rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. "I came to check on you."

"You should come in! I mean, saves me the trip I guess, and at least Angela won't yell at me for going rogue after her prescription for bed rest."

I can't believe you went out of your way, she thinks. But it's Genji, so of course he did. It's him, after all.

Doubling back to her bed, she sits herself at the corner of the mattress, inhaling deeply because everything definitely still hurts. She notices him watching her, noting her hands that are grasping at her side and she nonchalantly moves her arms above her to stretch. It's an attempt to play off how much pain she's in but stretching like that actually hurts too and she regrets it immediately.

"Ah, I can't wait to get out of here," she starts on, her tone cheerful and exuberant. "I'm already getting stir crazy and I have a million things to do. A few bumps and bruises aren't going to slow me down, either!"

Genji frowns and takes a seat across from her, at her computer chair. It's where he usually sits if he's visiting her quarters. He's regarding her with a serious look and she tilts her head and laughs at his expression.

"What?"

"I wish you wouldn't do that."

Her smile slips for a second. "Do what?"

"Posturing."

She puffs out an indignant exhale. "I'm not-"

"I know your intention isn't to deceive, Hana. You don't want to worry anyone, I know that well enough. It's who you are, but I know you're hurt, and you don't have to pretend you're fine with me."

If it had been anyone else, Hana would have gone off on him. She would have told him to stop treating her like a kid, she would have told him to stop presuming to know her.

With Genji it was harder to do that, because she had let him know her. She had opened up and confided in him when she thought he was an omnic like Zenaytta. She had felt like that information was safe. Now that the circumstances had shifted it felt like he was cheating, using his knowledge against her like this.

She didn't like that he could see through her. It made her feel exposed. Hana's arms cross over her chest and she gives him a look that could make most men flinch.

"I really hope you didn't come here to lecture me, because Soldier 76 already beat you to it with his whole 'War isn't a game' speech. I don't need it from anyone else."

Genji shifts in his seat and regards her quietly. "He was just worried. We were all worried."

She can't help but roll her eyes at that. "Come ON, Genji."

"Hana, you were unconscious and you were losing blood. It may not have been as bad as it looked but it was a dire situation." His voice falters. "If Angela had not been there..."

That causes her eyes to soften. Genji was always composed, he was always able to help her ease her own anxious thoughts. She had never seen him scared. The mental image made her feel horrible.

"Genji I-"

"I didn't know if you would be alright," He cuts her off, and he sounds determined now. "And I felt feeble. I hadn't gotten to you fast enough-"

"You know it's impossible to be effective if we're all worrying about each other, Genji. I didn't call for back up, I didn't indicate my plan or position. I take responsibility for what happened to me. It wasn't on you to know what was going to happen."

He doesn't say anything. Hana lifts herself up onto her own two feet and she wobbles a bit, unsteady, her leg still throbbing. He stands and moves to help her but Hana outstretches her arm firm and insistent he stay where he is.

"It's not your job to protect me, Genji. If I get hurt out there it's not your fault. Our mission is the only thing that matters." Hana is military through and through, though it's easy to forget when everything she owns is pink and she's about as heavy as a bag of feathers. But one person can't compromise the objective. In the grand scheme of things, her life cannot endanger the lives of so many others.

Genji sighs and his eyes narrow, and if Hana had to describe his expression he looked like he'd just gottan a wiff of the stench surrounding McCree's locker.

"Overwatch is not my job," he says finally. "I'm here because we share a common goal and I believe in it, but I value life above all else." Genji stands then, too, towering above her. It feels like he's trying to pull rank and she frowns.

"I value your life, Hana. You may think you are disposable in the grand scheme of things but to me you cannot be so easily replaced."

Hana's heart skips in her chest at his words, tossed out as casually as the weather or even his own name. His eyes are the most expressive thing on his face right now and the look he's giving her is making it hard to breathe.

She coughs, mostly because she forgot to breathe for a second.

"Why did you stay with me yesterday?" She feels a little braver now, confident enough she can articulate the words without wanting to run away before he can answer.

"Because I was worried about you."

"Because we're friends." It's not a question.

He takes a step closer to her and she is about reaching her limit for standing upright and she feels like she might fall back onto the bed but Genji's arms are there, holding her steady, letting her lean her weight against him. She doesn't fight him.

"We are, so please refrain from telling me to stop caring about my friend." A large warm hand pats her on the head gently, fluffing her hair. She keeps her eyes on his armor, hiding her face underneath her bangs. She blushes at her own expression, mirrored back at her across his chest. Underneath the scratches and grime is the crimson face of a girl she hardly recognizes.

Quickly she turns from him and shoves him gently, an airy laugh escaping her. "Alright enough of this sappy stuff," she rummages around one of her drawers and pulls out 2 controllers with a self-satisfied grin.

"Come on. I haven't tried co-op mode on this game I got last month." She pushes one of the controllers against his palm. "You're gonna be my player 2."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter. It really motivated me to finish up this one. Now to start on Chapter 4!


End file.
